Ben O'Connor hasn't ripped up Pat Ryan's script, insists Cork captain Fitzgibbon

Cork captain Darragh Fitzgibbon before the Munster SHC final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Cork captain Darragh Fitzgibbon says manager Ben O’Connor hasn’t ripped up the script left by Pat Ryan.

There is a meaner element to Cork in defence and the forward line has been infused with William Buckley and Barry Walsh but a lot of the principles from Ryan’s time remains the same, says the Charleville man.

“Himself (O’Connor) and his management team have been in breath of fresh air but in saying that, they haven’t come in and thrown everything we've been doing out the window either.

“They've been very aware of the things that have worked for us over the past two or three seasons and just incorporating their own one or two bits they're not as seen like any other management would do.

“Even if Pat was still there, you still have fresh bits coming in each season, so at the end of the day as well, Ben was an idol for a lot of us when we were growing up and his background team as well. So, it's a privilege to be able to play for him, we want to do the best we can for him each day and each training session and each match that we play in.” 

To miss out on last Sunday week’s Munster final exacerbated the defeat to Limerick for Fitzgibbon but his Cork-following fifth-class students in Ballyhea National School felt it more. 

“The kids take the result initially to heart and they were disappointed, almost heartbroken for a bit, but they move on.” 

Over time, the 29-year-old has learned to put setbacks in the rearview mirror.

“You’ve obviously very disappointed because you've lost a Munster final, but during our preparation we had kind of taken into consideration what was going to happen in the Munster final. You're going to win or you're going to lose and you have to refocus as much as you can because if you're on the losing side you only have two weeks.” 

He has put himself in Patrick Collins’ boots and would have done exactly the same in trying to work a last-gasp equaliser rather than attempting to pierce that long-range free through the wind.

“But look, we always say in our dressing room that the team after the 70 minutes that wins is obviously going to be the better team so we've got no complaints. We were playing for 76-77 minutes I think and they were on the right side of the result so they were definitely the better team on the day and they deserve to win it.” 

If there was one benefit of a preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final, it was resting key players and reintroducing them a week later in the quarter proper. 

Think Tipperary’s Eoghan Connolly and Jake Morris against Laois last year or, in Cork’s case the season before, Seamus Harnedy coming into the team to face Dublin after defeating Offaly.

Cork have no such leverage now. The opposition may be the same as it was two years ago but the stakes are higher.

“It’s an All-Ireland quarter-final and you're playing at the highest level so if you can't be focused and prepared for that there's something wrong,” says Fitzgibbon.

“We played Offaly in the league this year and they were excellent against us, they caused us problems for a lot of the first half and even when we played in the championship in 2024 it was a really competitive game. They probably didn't have the ideal preparation because it was only a week after the McDonagh Cup final.

“They've won All-Irelands underage, they've got exceptional players, so we know the challenge is coming down the line in Thurles on Sunday.”